Boycott Air Canada?

Published: December - 2006

E-mail Extra subscribers already know that Air Canada has been given the green light to re-implement that $50 fee for the handling of firearms that caused us to call for a boycott of the airline back in May. At this writing, the fee is back in place, along with a new and silly policy of requiring trigger locks.

Our immediate reaction last month was to call for a renewal of the boycott, and we did that in an E-Mail bulletin dated November 9. As this issue goes to press, however, it appears Air Canada is feeling the heat we have generated and is taking a second look at the matter.

For starters, in a personal phone call, CEO Montie Brewer said he was going to take another look at the most onerous part of the gun policy charging Americans $50 US while the rest of the world pays only $50 Canadian. He said he could not promise that the fee would be adjusted because he needed to see if there was a special tax consideration at work in the fee for handling guns coming from the US. If not, he anticipated having this settled by the time you read this. An update on what action he takes, if any, will be posted to our web site.

More promising still, Brewer said he had decided to waive the gun fee for any travelers who elect to buy what is called a Latitude fare at Air Canada. The fare equates roughly to a business class ticket. That is good news indeed for hunters and gun owners who typically fly business class.

That still leaves the matter of the gun fee itself, which appears to be an unfair levy placed on gun owners. A particular sticking point is Air Canada's policy to transport golf clubs at no extra charge as checked baggage. Golf clubs and gun cases are roughly equivalent in size and weight. If guns cost $50, why not golf clubs, is the question everyone has been asking.........(continued)